Comings and Goings
by musefan929
Summary: A busy and confusing sixth year. Who knows what will happen? Neville/Luna and Hermione/Ginny. A collection of drabbles written alongside Muggle Jane's "The Other Things That Happened". Too Many Cooks Challenge.
1. Porridge

**A/N: All written for "The Too Many Cooks Challenge"- a back and forth collaboration with _Muggle Jane_. **

* * *

Neville looked down at his porridge. His hand unconsciously stroked his cheek, where Luna had kissed him. He gulped. This was a new development. Neville had assumed that it would take months, if not years of bashful back and forth before either would admit what they felt.

But right here, over a bowl of now tepid porridge, Luna had pecked him on the cheek. He wrinkled his broken nose. Pecked him. Pecking was something Gran would do. Maybe it was like that, then. Maybe she did not feel like that _at all_ and maybe she was just being nice and-

"Neville, are you alright?" Ginny asked, lifting a suspicious eyebrow.

Neville shook the miserable thoughts from his head. He looked up at the redhead.

"I'm sorry, what?" he sputtered.

"You've been stirring that porridge and gazing off to Merlin knows where for the last few minutes. Did Draco bean you that badly during the-"

"He _did not _bean me. Okay? He- he-"

Ginny sat down opposite the round-faced boy and crossed her leather-strapped arms.

"Right. Just as I suppose you did not just get a kiss from Luna," Ginny replied, smiling and biting her lip, "You two are sweet, you know that? Almost lost the little I ate for breakfast watching you two."

Neville flamed a brilliant red. The Great Hall was viciously unprivate like that. It did not help that Ginny was also famously frank.

"You nervous for the game, then?" Neville asked, swallowing a spoonful of the cold porridge.

Ginny rubbed her arms and looked around, "Just don't tell anyone else, but yeah."

"But you're brilliant!" Neville said, "And you've been playing for years now."

Ginny sighed and stood up, "Well we're playing Slytherin today. That's always enough to get things all knotted up in all the wrong places. But there is something particularly manky about today. It's about someone who's going to be there."

Neville furrowed his brow, "Who is it?"

"There you are!" Harry shouted, already in full uniform, he came up to Ginny and patted her on the shoulder, "team's warming up. Better get going."

"I'll be seeing you," Ginny said as Harry led her away.

Neville looked down at his porridge. Sitting in the middle was Trevor. It was only slightly comforting to find the toad who he had regarded as completely lost. But did it have to sit in his breakfast?

"Now where did you come from?"


	2. Lantern

Urquhart. Even a shaved chimp looked better in a Quidditch uniform, Ginny thought to herself as she was poised on her broomstick. On the opposite end of the field, Urquhart nudged Draco and nodded toward Ginny. The two laughed loudly, rolling back their heads. Ginny gripped her broom tighter.

Madame Hooch blew the whistle. Ginny was the first in the air, hunting for the quaffle. Nothing else mattered when she was in the sky. Not Smith as commentator, doling out more passive-aggressive remarks than Professor Snape on a bad day. Not Draco spreading vicious rumors about her in order to undermine her ability to play. And not even Urquhart zooming towards her.

Wait, no, that was bad, Ginny thought. But it was too late. Ginny ducked to avoid him, but everything was too fast. She was brutally checked, slamming into flesh and broom. Ginny spun, the world blurring.

"Oi! Weasley! How about you tell Potter his hands need to stay off the lantern!" Urquhart roared down at her before zooming off.

What did that mean, Ginny thought. But was that even what he said, because everything was happening too fast. She was plummeting out of the sky. She slipped off her broom and out of consciousness.

* * *

Ginny's eyes fluttered. She was in the hospital wing. Beside her was Hermione, who was fiercely clutching her hand.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're awake," Hermione whispered.

"Hermione, Urquhart-"

"Has been suspended indefinitely. Madame Hooch nearly cursed Draco right then and there on the field. You should have seen it, those two were having the row of the century. So how are you feeling?"

Ginny could sense Hermione's high level of anxiety. Her cheeks were flushed and she was talking quickly, the usual symptoms of Hermione-brand tension.

"Hermione, do you know what the lantern is?" Ginny asked.

"What?" Hermione said, standing up, "Who said that? Who told you?"

"So it means something?" Ginny asked.

"I need to go find Neville. Or Harry. Maybe Harry first-"

"Hermione-"

"Oh, it was Urquhart, wasn't it? I saw him say something to you."

"Hermione!" Ginny yelled.

Hermione looked down at her and frowned, "I'm sorry, there's a lot going on right now. Maybe we'll talk about it later. I- I have to go."

And she was gone, leaving Ginny in complete confusion.


	3. Glasses

Hermione walked out of the hospital room, her forehead crinkled in worry. She flew up the staircase, heading toward the Gryffindor common room when she spotted just who she was looking for. It was Harry. He was rubbing his glasses on his jacket as he stared distractedly out a window.

"Harry!" Hermione said when she reached the top of the flight of stairs.

Harry shook his head and looked in her direction, screwing his eyes in strained focus.

"Hermione? Is that you?" He asked, putting on his glasses and sighing with relief, "Oh good. Can't tell you from a lopsided troll without these on."

"I'm not sure how I'm supposed to take that, but alright," Hermione said, crossing her arms, "We need to talk about Ginny."

He crinkled his brow. She knew any mention of her would be taken seriously.

"What is it?"

"She knows about the lantern. Well, rather, she asked about it."

"And did you tell her?" Harry asked, stepping forward.

"You know I didn't. That I couldn't. But Urquhart let something slip during the game, right after he ran into her."

"You mean attacked her?"

"Look, he's been suspended. He's not our problem right now. This is about Malfoy. You can be sure he said something to him."

Harry took Hermione's hand and led her outside to a small balcony where they would not be overheard.

"We've been lying to everybody saying that we're off in the restricted section to learn more about that veil," Harry whispered, "But it's not like it even matters with how far we've gotten with this Horcrux business. You think Draco has somehow found out?"

Hermione bit her lip and shook her head, "Who's to say anymore, Harry? They're onto us, we can't deny it."

Harry was silent for a long moment. He dropped his head and said in a small voice, "I saw you in the hospital, you know. With Ginny. You really care about her, don't you?"

Hermione blushed warmly, "Harry, I know how you feel about her. I- I just. We just-"

"No. It's okay. I see it in her eyes as well. It's good this way, you know, good for her."

Hermione said nothing, wiping a tear from a corner of her eye. Harry coughed awkwardly and clapped his hands together.

"Right. Well, I see that the lantern's been outed. I have a hunch about Draco and I think I know who's going to help."

"Who?" Hermione asked.

"A Slytherin, of course," Harry whispered before turning around, disappearing down the hall.


	4. Library

There was a loud clanging. Harry looked up from his parchment, quill poised and a smile on his lips. It was Neville, who was currently extracting his sleeve from a plate of a knight's armor. The clanging continued and Madame Pince shushed him irritably.

Ron hid a snigger behind his hand and Harry nudged him under the table. Luna stepped forward and gently pulled Neville's sleeve out of the cacophonous suit of armor. She guided him to their seats opposite Harry and Ron.

Harry whispered, "How'd it go?"

"Bad," Neville replied.

"That will be quite enough talking, over there," Madame Pince intoned.

Ron rolled his eyes and wrote hastily on parchment, passing it to Neville.

_Nothing about that pale idiot?_

Neville wrote back, _C and G are supposed to be stationed outside R of R. Haven't seen them there. Map?_

Harry grabbed the paper and wrote, _Just the cat. Every time we think we can follow, Mrs. Norris shows up._

Neville leaned back in his chair, turning to Luna. She was engrossed in a textbook though it was hard to discern what subject for it was upside-down. When he turned back, he saw that Harry and Ron were exchanging knowing looks. They were keeping something from him.

_Neville, you think you can do us one more favor? _Harry wrote.

But I don't want to, Neville thought to himself. The Polyjuice Potion had been a true nightmare and he had the impression that this next favor would be no less unpleasant. But there was a war coming on, wasn't there? He sighed and wrote.

_Sure, mate._


	5. Cheese

Hermione hoisted her party dress up to her shoulders, threading her arms through the straps roughly.

"I swear, if I had known what two _imbecilic _man-children they were, I might have tried to take on that troll myself," she scowled as her fingers flailed in search of the zipper.

"Need help?" Ginny asked, sitting with her ankles crossed in bed and flipping through the latest _Daily Prophet._

"Shouldn't you be getting dressed?" Hermione asked, "And yes, if you could."

Ginny sighed and hopped off the bed. Her slender fingers found the zipper and she pulled slowly, as if painting with a brush up her friend's back. When she got to the top, she brought her lips to the base of Hermione's neck and softly kissed.

"No," Hermione said, brushing her away and sitting down at the small desk, "I finally got my hair just the way I like it. Can't be trying to pile it back up last second."

Ginny watched as Hermione looped on her small diamond earrings. They dangled ever so slightly, glinting palely in the light. Her delicate neck seemed framed in them. Ginny shook her head.

"Figure they'll have that fancy cheese?" Ginny asked, unlatching her trunk to dig for a clean-ish bra.

"Is that really what you're concerned about for tonight?" Hermione asked, scrunching her brow as she applied a peach lipgloss.

"It's just, you know, I've got this feeling Slughorn'll be making an even bigger deal out of it than usual. He's probably gearing to have us mate or something, like zoo animals."

Hermione laughed, "So what does that make me? Let me guess, am I a monkey or a lion?"

"Well you've got the ears for the first one," Ginny replied, sniffing a pair of underwear and quickly tossing it back, "but the hair for the lion. I'd say take your pick."

Hermione stuck out her tongue and spritzed herself with a perfume her mother had given her for her last birthday. She stood up and snatched up her sequined purse.

"Well, I'm off. I have a strong feeling that Harry is going to need a little bit of direction for this to work without a hitch. I'll see you at the party."

"See you, then," Ginny said, raising a hand.

As Hermione left, Ginny pulled out her purse from underneath her bed. She checked the contents and grinned. Of course, it would be better if she didn't _have_ to use what was inside, but it sure would be a bit of fun. Who knows, maybe her brothers would appreciate the free advertising.


End file.
